Pakistan plays copycat, to demonetise 5,000-rupee notes

Senate passes resolution to this effect, says move will encourage use of bank accounts, curb black economy

After India, now the Pakistan Senate on Monday passed a resolution seeking withdrawal of high denomination 5,000-rupee currency notes from circulation in order to curb the flow of black money.

Senator Usman Saif Ullah Khan of Pakistan Muslim League (PML) tabled the resolution that was endorsed by the majority of law makers in the Upper House, reports the Dawn.

The resolution said that the withdrawal of 5,000-rupee notes will encourage the use of bank accounts and reduce the size of the undocumented economy adding that the withdrawal of the currency notes should take place within three to five years in order to purge markets of the notes.

Law Minister Zahid Hamid, however, said that the withdrawal of the notes will create crises in the market and the people will resort to foreign currencies in absence of the high denomination notes.

He said that currently 3.4 trillion notes are in circulation in country of which 1.02 trillion notes are of 5,000-rupee denominations.